Buck Rogers, Episode 6: Souls of the Dead
by Keith Shaw
Summary: On the way home from Draconia and Empress Ardala's coronation, Buck's shuttle is hijacked and sent to a faraway planet to meet with Cicada Solara, Queen of the Mystics. With her aid, Buck finally finds the peace and resolution of his past and can at long last look forward to the future and appreciate his present.
1. Chapter 1

**Buck Rogers in the 25** **th** **Century**

 **Episode 6**

" **Souls of the Dead"**

 **by**

 **Keith M. Shaw**

 **Chapter 1**

The cockpit was surprisingly quiet, considering it contained Buck, Twiki, and Doctor Theopolis, all of whom normally liked to talk. However ever since they left the Draconian stargate, no one had said a word. In fact they had traveled for nearly half an hour before Theopolis broke the dead silence of deep space.

"Captain Rogers, are you feeling well?"  
Buck opened his eyes (he had been trying to nap and the tone of Theopolis' voice jerked him awake) and glanced at the droid sitting beside him. "Yeah," he managed to mumble in a hoarse voice. "Why do you ask?"  
"You've barely said a word since we left the Draconia home world."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: he misses Ardala!"

Buck grinned but shook his head as his eyes closed again. "No, that's not it."  
"Then what is it?" Theo pressed. "Thinking about how you're going to word your report to Doctor Huer?"  
"No, that's not it either."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: upset the party's over?"  
"Ugh," Buck mumbled again. "Man, what a party. Ardala's like a 318 V-8: she's got a motor that just doesn't know when to quit."  
"Yes it was quite the interesting event," Theo agreed. "It's not every day they crown a new empress. Apparently they weren't ready to end the celebrations."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: neither was Astawnia! Hubba Hubba!"

Buck simply grinned and kept his eyes shut.

"Agreed, Twiki. I believe the Princess Astawnia was quite stricken with Captain Rogers. It was quite the spectacle, watching her challenge Ardala for Buck's affections and attention."

Buck simply maintained his grin but kept his eyes shut.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: what do you think of Astawnia, Buck?"

He moaned slightly and shook his head. "I'm trying not to."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: if Ardala is a 318 V-8, what kind of motor does Astawnia have?"  
"Mmmm," Buck mumbled. "If I was four hundred years younger."

"If you were four hundred years younger, you would still be a hundred thirty-four," Theo said.

"Okay, if I was five hundred fifteen years younger."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep."

"I agree, Twiki."

Buck rolled his head from side to side but didn't bother opening his eyes. "I'm not even going to ask." The cockpit fell into silence for another couple minutes before Buck rubbed his forehead. "Man, I haven't been this hung-over since my fraternity days. I'm just glad it's dark and quiet in deep space." He finally opened his eyes and took a quick glance at the droid and the computer hanging from its neck. "Usually," he added.

The cockpit silenced for another minute before Twiki spoke again. "Beep-be-de-de-beep: I wonder what a Draconian wedding looks like."

Without even looking, Buck smacked the little droid on top of the head. "Don't start on me, Twiki. I don't even want to think of going to another party for at least a month. It might be that long before I have another drink, too. Ugh, my head's still spinning, and we're not even near a stargate."  
"Actually we are," Theo announced.

Buck glanced at his control panel. "Nah, we got ten more minutes. When we get home, I'm gonna go straight to bed and not come outa my apartment for at least four days."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: not even for Wilma?"  
"Not even for Doctor Huer. The last three days feels like it was three weeks."

"It was, for us," Theo said.

"Hmm-mmm, don't remind me. Now if you don't mind, it feels like I got the whole Tijuana Brass playing inside my head. Wake me up when we get to the stargate."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: you got it, Buck."

Once more the cockpit silenced for several minutes. When they reached the stargate, Twiki reached across and tapped Buck on the arm. Buck's body spasmed and his eyes jerked open. It took a minute to realize where he was, but eventually some semblance of cognizance returned, at least enough to type in the coordinates for the stargate nearest Earth. He then leaned back in the seat just as the shuttle entered the stargate.

Before the spinning sensation could fade away, however, Theo's voice sounded sharply in his ear. "Captain Rogers, I believe you typed in the wrong coordinates. This isn't the Terran system. This is the Sirrian system."  
Buck forced the hangover symptoms aside and instantly became alert and aware. He checked his console readouts against the navigational coordinates and shook his head. "No I didn't," he replied after a moment's pause. "I typed them in right. I've used them so many times now it's like second nature."  
"This is most definitely the Sirrian system."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: taking a detour, Buck?"  
"NO! I… I don't know how… alright, let's try this again."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: time for a U-turn."  
Buck typed in the course change, but nothing happened. He did it again but still nothing happened. His eyes widened and he bit his bottom lip. "Uh-oh."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: here it comes."  
"What's wrong, Captain Rogers?"  
"The controls aren't responding."  
"What do you mean they aren't responding?"  
"I can't change course, I can't slow down, I can't speed up: we're on automatic pilot and I can't take manual control! The controls are completely frozen! I'm locked out!"

"Try the manual override."  
"I did! Three times!"

"Isn't there anything you can do?"  
"I can try one more thing." He reached under the seat, but as soon as he touched the bypass panel, he pulled his arm back so hard it bounced off the view-screen. "Ouch! Sonofa… it shocked me!"

"Oh dear."  
Buck growled as he sat back in the seat. "I'm gonna kill her!"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Ardala?"  
"Anderia!" Buck nearly yelled.

"What makes you think Princess Anderia sabotaged the shuttle?"  
"Who else would do it?"  
"But she didn't know when we were leaving or what ship we were taking. This is Empress Ardala's new personal shuttle. In fact, Empress Ardala said this was the maiden voyage for this shuttle."

"New?"  
"Her last personal shuttle was aboard the Draconia when it-"

"Ahh, right. Pfft, some maiden voyage this is turning out to be."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I'm too young to die!"

"We're not dead yet, little buddy." Buck tried a few more switches but nothing worked. "Radio's out too. Theo, can you raise Doctor Huer on your subspace communicator?"  
"I can, but I can't make point to point communication. I can only send a one-way transmission."  
"That'll have to do. Tell him where we are and what our current trajectory is just in case I can't get manual control back. The only thing we can do right now is ride this thing out and see where it takes us."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: what if it takes us nowhere?"  
Buck sighed and leaned back. "Then we'll be right in the middle of it."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: just my luck: all dressed up and nowhere to go."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Wilma walked into the office and moved to stand in front of the large desk in the center of the room. "Morning, Dr. Huer," she said cheerfully. "Heard from Buck yet? His last transmission said he was coming home today."

The elder man set down his stylus and looked up with just the tops of his eyes. He crowned his fingers together and sighed. "Yes and no."

Wilma furrowed her brows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Yes I have heard from him, and no he's not coming home today, or at least not right away."  
She scowled and folded her arms over her chest. "What?"  
He frowned, reached for a notepad and handed it to the blue-clad colonel. "Buck was indeed on his way home, but according to a transmission I received from Doctor Theopolis, they have encountered… an anomaly."

"What kind of anomaly?"

"As soon as they entered the stargate, he was completely locked out of manual control. They were in the Sirrian system heading for an unchartered section of the Perseus galactic arm."

"Well can't they do anything?"  
"We've already contacted Empress Ardala, since it's her personal shuttle that they're using. She has no idea what's happened either, but her personal astrologer has assured us that there is no cause for alarm."  
"Her… what? What's an… astrologer?"  
Huer held up both hands. "I said the same thing. After speaking with Ardala, I looked it up in the old archives. Apparently in ancient Earth, many leaders used astrologers to predict everything from lunar and solar eclipses to how and when to begin conquests. An astrologer is someone who supposedly can predict the future by the motions and positions of the planets, sun, and stars."  
"I suppose that would work for celestial events like eclipses, but how does it work for other things, like predicting the future in battle?"  
"I don't know."  
"That sounds… barbaric! And Ardala uses one of these _astrologers_?"  
"Apparently. Her current astrologer also worked for Draco, and Drago, the emperor before Draco."

"Wow, this astrologer must be pretty old!"

"Indeed. I didn't see her, but she relayed the message through Ardala that Buck, Twiki, and Dr. Theopolis were in no danger whatsoever."  
"And we're supposed to take the word of… a barbaric astrologer whom we've never even heard about before?"  
"What do you propose we do, Colonel?"  
"Let me take my starfighter to investigate! I'll fly to the Sirrian system and follow their flight path! Just give me the coordinates."  
Huer grinned and handed her a small disc. "I was hoping you'd offer. Your starfighter is already fueled and on the flight deck ready to go."  
"Thank you, Sir."  
She turned to go, but Huer interrupted her as soon as she got to the door. "Oh, and Colonel? Be careful. We have no idea what you might run into. Remember you're flying into unchartered space."

"I'll be careful. I'll let you know as soon as I find anything."  
Before Huer could say anything else, Wilma was gone and the door was closing. Huer sat back down and sighed. "It's always something," he muttered as he picked up his stylus and went back to work.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"We appear to be approaching this star system," Buck announced.

"Analysis show it to be an M-type star with… six planets orbiting," Theo added.

"Navigations says we're heading for the second planet. We should be there in about… fifteen minutes."  
"It appears to be inhabited. I'm picking up signs of an advanced civilization."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I hope they're friendly."  
"Yeah, me too," Buck muttered. "Last thing I need right now is a dogfight."  
The closer they got to the planets, the more Buck expected to hear some kind of message from the authorities or spaceport on the planet, warning or greeting, but neither was forthcoming. Once more Buck tried the controls, but still nothing happened. He sat back, but remained on guard.

"It's pretty," he said as they approached. "Kinda looks like Earth, I mean the Earth I grew up on. Lots of forests and oceans."  
Suddenly every light in the cockpit disappeared, only to be replaced by a green, ever-present glow that seemed to surround the ship.

"Tractor beam," Theo explained, even though he didn't have to. "A very powerful one too."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: my circuits are quivering."  
Buck rested a hand atop the droid's head. "Relax, Twiki. Someone went to a lot of trouble to bring us here. I highly doubt they brought us here to kill us. They could have done that in space."  
"No, I mean my circuits are quivering… literally."

"The strength of the tractor beam is affecting Twiki's internal circuitry, sending additional current through. Maybe you should go into sleep mode until we land."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: no way. I'll ride it out."  
Buck tapped Twiki's head again. "That's my little trouper."  
With intent interest, Buck watched the shuttle descend into the planet's atmosphere and fly over a massively large, thick forest for several minutes until it stopped suddenly at the edge of a large lake. For another couple minutes all they saw was the sunlight reflecting off the surface of the water. Suddenly a sparkle of light appeared on the horizon. The sparkle quickly grew into a gleaming, beautiful, multi-faceted, multi-spired, immense castle built on a small island near the other edge of the lake. The foundation of the castle appeared to take up nearly the entire island. The shuttle slowed, then began to circle around to the front of the island castle. On the other side of the island appeared a wide, long, arcing bridge connecting the island with the mainland and the sprawling, bustling, advanced city beyond. The shuttle continued to descend and circle the castle until Buck noticed a small opening at ground level and to the right of the large castle doors. The shuttle entered the tunnel and almost immediately entered into a wide, sparsely occupied hangar. The ship set down in the exact center of the hangar. Buck glanced to his right and shrugged.

"We're here," he announced, taking off his helmet and gloves.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: but where is here?"  
"Well it's not the middle of nowhere," Theo offered.

Buck shrugged again. "I guess we follow Quasi Modo there."  
He pointed out the viewscreen at the tall but hunched over man standing at the far end of the hangar. Buck unholstered his pistol, checked the charge, then re-holstered it.

"Might I suggest you leave that here?" Theo asked.

"No!" Buck and Twiki replied in unison.

They left the shuttle and slowly started across the expanse toward the hunched old man. He waved for them to follow, but didn't say a word. He led them into a small elevator and depressed a button once everyone was in. It ascended for about thirty seconds before the door opened. He gave them an, 'after you' gesture, but once Buck and Twiki exited the elevator, the door closed again with Quasi on the other side. Buck shrugged, tapped Twiki on the head.

"I guess we go this way," he said, starting down the short corridor to the set of double doors ten feet ahead.

Cautiously he moved down the hall, but stopped at the doors. One hand rested on the door handle while the other rested on the pistol. "Here goes nothing."  
Slowly he opened the door. Instantly his breath was taken away by the sheer size and beauty of the audience chamber. The one Ardala had had her ceremony was large, but nothing compared to the size and beauty of this room. Hundreds of stained glass windows lined both sides of the chambers and even the ceiling. Some of the windows were opened to allow a marvelous scenic view of the sparkling lake surrounding the castle. In between the windows hung tapestries depicting many different images and colored patterns. The furniture, the walls, the chandeliers hanging from the fifty foot ceiling, even the tessellated floor tiles assaulted his senses almost to the point of overload.

"Wow," he breathed. "I've never seen anything like this before! It's beautiful!"

"Thank you," sounded a feminine voice from the front of the room. "You made good time, Captain Rogers. I've been expecting you."

Buck's hand tightened on the pistol's handle, but kept it holstered for the time being. His eyes narrowed and focused on the beautiful woman walking down the center aisle toward them. Her long black hair trailed down both shoulders, contrasting sharply with the shimmering white robe she wore. She moved to within five feet of him before stopping and waving one hand horizontally out in front of her.

"You do not need your weapon. I assure you I am not here to harm you."

"Who are you?" Buck asked, hand still gripped on the handle of the gun.

"My name is Cicada."  
"Why am I here?"  
She grinned. "Is that a philosophical question or a practical question?"  
"Why am I here on this planet, in this castle, in this room talking to you?"  
"Because my daughter programmed your shuttle to come see me."  
"Your… daughter?"  
"Syndria."

Buck's eyes widened. "Ardala's mystic?"  
"Yes," the black haired woman said with a smile. "She wished you to have an audience with me. She wished me to help you… come to grips on certain decisions you have made in your recent past."

"You are a mystic then?"

"Yes."  
He released his grip on the pistol and nodded. "You were right, Theo. I should've left the gun in the ship. If she's as quick as Syndria, weapons won't do me any good here."  
Cicada grinned. "I'm a little older than Syndria, but I'm still quick enough to hold my own." Slowly she raised both hands to chest level, eight inches apart, and held them out toward Buck. "May I?" she asked simply. "It won't hurt, I promise."  
He stared into her wide, crystal clear, colorless eyes for only a moment before he felt a wave of peace flow throughout his body and soul. He nodded. The woman stepped up to him and placed a hand on each cheek, then closed her eyes and began to murmur almost inaudibly. After only three seconds, she stepped back and lowered her hands.

"I see," she whispered.

"What do you see?"  
"Why Syndria wanted me to meet you. you bear a heavy burden. You bear the burden of a mystic."

"What does that even mean?"  
"Walk with me, Buck. May I call you Buck?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep."

"Have no fear, little one," Cicada said toward the droid. "Although I am far from harmless, Captain Rogers has nothing to fear from me. Doctor Theopolis, I sense you would like to go to our archives and read up on our history."  
"Yes I would, but how did you know?"

"I would have my steward show you the way, but I think it will be faster if I just tell you where to find it, or rather show you where it is."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: no way, sister! I'm not leaving Buck!"

Buck tapped the ambuquad on the head. "It's okay, Twiki. I don't know why but I think we're in the safest place in the known universe."  
"Maybe not in the universe, but at least in this realm," Cicada said with just a bare hint of a smile. She rested a hand atop Twiki's head and held it there for only a second before removing it. "There, I have shown you the way to our library. Please take your time and be at ease. My home is now your home."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: say what?"  
"Until it is time for you to leave, of course. I didn't wish to imply that you could never leave. you may leave now if you wish. You are not my hostages."  
"No," Buck interrupted immediately. "I, for one, would like to get to the bottom of this." He tapped Twiki on the shoulder. "Go ahead and take Theo to the library. I'll be okay with Cicada."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: why do you always get the girl?"  
Cicada snickered and shook her head. "I don't think Buck wants this girl. Actually, come to think of it, I may be the only girl in the galaxy close to his age. I am 344 years old, after all."

"Wow, you don't look a day over 150."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep!"

"Captain Rogers-"

"I could say the same of you," Cicada said.

Buck grinned, nodded once. "Touché. Go on, Twiki."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I'm going on the record of saying I don't like this."  
"Don't worry, little buddy. If she truly is a mystic, she can't kill me."

"Why not?"

"Cosmic mystic rule number one. If she kills me, she loses her powers."  
"Ahh, I see Syndria has already initiated you! Excellent!"

Beep-be-de-de-beep."

"Let's go, Twiki," Theo said. "Let's leave the captain with our host. They have much to discuss and I would like to see these archives."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: fine."

Twiki turned and began to trudge away. Cicada watched him go for a moment before turning to the much larger man. "He thinks very highly of you. No truer friend has a man ever had."

"We've been through a lot together."

She nodded knowingly. "I know." She took Buck's hand and turned the other way toward the front of the audience hall. Once more he could feel a sense of power, peace, and serenity overwhelming his soul. He turned to look at the beautiful woman.

"I didn't see a spaceport here."  
"We have one. It's on the other side of the city across the bridge."  
"Do they always let people land here without so much as a peep out of them?"  
She smiled. "Only when they don't know someone's coming." She snickered at the look he gave her. "I hid your approach and descent from their instruments. They have no idea you're even here."

"You can do that?"  
"I can do many things."  
He stared into the side of her expressionless face. "Normally when someone says something like that, they're boasting. I get the sense you truly can do many things."  
She grinned. "I like you, Buck. You're a lot like my beloved. Not only are you smart, but you are also wise. That's not often a trait people share nowadays."  
"There's something about you," he started. "I feel this awesome… aura, this power around you but yet you hide it deep inside."  
She sighed and looked away. "Only the weak have to flaunt the power they have." She suddenly stopped and turned almost into Buck's chest. "True power comes from here," she said, placing a hand upon his heart. "Not from here," she added, moving her hand to tap his forehead. She winked at him, then took his hand and began to walk again. "Come, we have much to discuss and much more to do before Colonel Deering arrives."  
Buck's eyes widened and his hand broke free from the mystic's. "Wilma's coming?!"

"Yes," Cicada replied matter of factly as she continued to walk toward the front of the room. "But she won't be able to find us until I'm done with you."

"Excuse me?"  
She stopped, turned and smirked. "I made us invisible."  
"The palace?"  
"The planet."  
"Whoa! You can do that?!"

"Come along, Buck. You have some friends who are dying to talk with you."  
"What!?"

She giggled as she turned and began to walk again. "Just a little joke! Actually they're already dead."

"Uh…"

"Come along, Buck. Don't make me drag you… unless you think I can't!"

He quickened his pace to catch up to the swift moving mystic.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Can I ask you a question?" Buck said.

Cicada grinned as she continued to walk. "If you do not ask questions, how will you ever learn?"  
Buck thought for a moment before nodding. "If you are as powerful as I suspect you are, why are you hiding out here away from the rest of the galaxy? You could be out there doing a lot of good."

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a moment, but continued her quick pace down the long corridor. "We used to be out there doing good, as you put it." She opened her eyes but maintained her gaze on the path before her. "You know what they say: 'Might begets might.' True, we are powerful, or at least we were powerful, but power is a two-edged sword. We were powerful, but so were our enemies. The difference between the two of us… they were also ruthless… and we depended too much upon ourselves and didn't ask for help when we should have. Therefore, they nearly destroyed us. For a long time I was the only mystic left in the galaxy, but I was young, inexperienced, and not very powerful. I was also living in captivity, a slave to one of our enemies. Until my beloved rescued me. Together we learned the ways of the mystic and defeated our foes, but that was a long time ago." She sighed once more, lowered her head slightly. "A long time ago," she echoed.

"So guys can become mystics too?" Buck pressed after a short pause to allow Cicada time to think and reminisce.

She looked up and shook her head. "Not normally, no. Usually it is female specific. My beloved was the only man to ever take and pass the mystic trials." She looked at him and smiled warmly. "I wish you could have met him in this realm. Like I said earlier, he was a lot like you, or rather you are a lot like him."

"In this realm?" Buck questioned.

"He left this realm many, many years ago."

"I'm sorry," Buck said in a hushed tone. "Did he die during your war?"  
"No; old age. He did not share my genes for longevity. He was a Terran, like you."

Buck's eyes widened. "What?! How?"  
"In fact he was the first Terran to activate the stargate in your sector."  
"No way! I thought Doctor Huer was."

"Doctor Huer was the first to activate it and return. My Arik activated it but never knew what happened. That was about two hundred years ago. By the time he figured it out, we'd already fallen in love and he refused to leave me, so he stayed here as my beloved."  
"If you knew you were going to outlive him by so long, why'd you marry him?"

Cicada gave him a smile so wide her dimples seemed to sparkle. "True love knows no limits. Oh, he is still around… in the whispers of the wind and the secrets of the night."  
Buck looked around the long corridor at all the stained glass windows and tapestries similar to the audience hall they'd just left. "Do you live alone in this castle now?"  
"Not quite. There's my steward, and a couple other servants. This used to be a more lively place to live, but the children are all grown up and living elsewhere. They still come to visit once in awhile."  
"So are you some kind of queen or something?"  
She giggled. "I am empress! Empress of Ornaby, and Queen of the Mystics."  
"Empress?" he asked with more interest than intended.

She nodded. "I was only a princess when my Arik rescued me. After our war, my father stepped down and I became empress, and Arik was at my side until he died."

"And your Arik went through the stargate? Mmm, I've never heard about anyone activating the gate before Doctor Huer twenty-five years ago."  
"Arik was probably declared lost, presumed deceased, since he never actually made it back to Earth and our struggle was nowhere near Earth or the Draconian realm. He didn't have any family to speak of, at least not on Earth. The only family he ever had was the one I gave him. We had three daughters and one son. You've already met Syndria, she's our oldest. The others are scattered about."

"Syndria said there were six mystics in the galaxy. You, her, and her two sisters only makes four."  
"There are two more. One was my roommate at school who was kidnapped when we were very young and was presumed dead, until we found her during our war. She now has a daughter, so that makes six."  
"Are they all guardians?"

"Guardians?"  
"Syndria said she is Ardala's guardian."

Cicada shook her head. "No, we are not guardians of the galaxy, as Syndria tries to make us out to be. Most of us are living a quiet, secluded life. Only Syndria is out there in the spotlight, but she is not really in the spotlight. She works behind Ardala in the shadows of the night. She considers herself a guardian, but really all she is is a messenger."

"Yeah, she kind of said that she was just a messenger too. You said that your war all took place over a hundred years ago?"  
"That is correct."  
"Then there should be a lot more mystics than six, shouldn't there?"  
Cicada shook her head. "It takes a long time to learn the ways of the mystic. One cannot take the final trials until their 75th birthday."

"What?! Why so long?"  
"There's a lot to learn… and a lot to learn how to deal with."  
Buck nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I can buy that. I kind of yelled at Syndria for allowing a lot of people to die so me and Ardala could live. She said that that was the hardest lessen she'd ever had to learn."

"Dealing with our visions and the consequences of our visions is the hardest part of becoming a mystic. We see so much death, and are often powerless to stop it."

Buck stared right into the side of Cicada's face. "Is that why she sent me here to see you?"  
Cicada continued to move down the corridor without returning the gaze. They walked for another half minute before she stopped and grasped Buck's arm. She spun him around to face her. "Let me ask you a question. Do the souls of the dead haunt you?"

Buck closed his eyes to escape the penetrating gaze of the mystic's clear, colorless eyes. "Sometimes… late at night… I see them…"  
She rested a hand on his chest and nodded. " _That_ is why you are here."  
He opened his eyes to stare down at the shorter woman. "What can you do about it?"  
"I am going to take you to see them."

"See them?"  
"You are going to speak to the souls of the dead… after we eat lunch."  
"I'm not hungry."

"Well I am." She began walking again. "And when I get hungry, I get cranky. You don't want to see me when I'm cranky. Come along, Buck."

He nodded and moved to catch up. "Yes, ma'am." 

"We are here."

Cicada opened the door and indicated for Buck to enter. He took two steps and stopped, looked over his shoulder. "This is your bedroom."

She pointed to the bed. "Lay down. I need a few minutes to prepare."

"Wow, I've had apartments smaller than this room."

She pointed to the bed. "Lay down."  
Buck started to protest, but decided against it. He sat down at the edge of the bed and watched as the mystic flittered about the room. She set a small wooden bowl atop the night stand nearest Buck, and then set another identical bowl on the night stand on the opposite side of the bed. Into the bowl beside Buck she poured a gold, thick liquid. On the other side she poured a silver, thick liquid. His eyes widened in amazement when Cicada conjured up a tiny fireball onto her fingertips to light each one. As the incense burned, fragrant plumes of gold and silver smoke rapidly filled the room. She lay down beside him on the bed and took his hand. He looked at her dubiously.

"Lay down," she ordered.

He frowned but obeyed.

"Breathe deeply," she said softly. "Allow the incense to envelope your entire being. You will feel many strange sensations, but do not be afraid. I will not allow any harm to come to you. Close your eyes and totally relax your body and your spirit."  
"My spirit?"  
"Just relax… and concentrate on slowing your breathing down."  
"Okay," he mumbled as his eyes closed. Quickly the sensations of euphoria begin to fill his soul. He chuckled lightly. "Heh, wow, I haven't been thish high shince college," he slurred. "I hope they don't drug test me when I get back home."  
Cicada grinned to herself but didn't say a word. Buck concentrated on his breathing and the euphoric sensations overwhelming him. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep with visions of dancing girls with guns flashing through his head. A slight smile crept onto his lips.

"Bond," he mumbled. "James Bond."

"Open your eyes, Buck."

Buck opened his eyes to see Cicada floating atop the bed like a specter in a bad John Carpenter horror movie. Somehow, though, he wasn't afraid. His body felt like it was paralyzed… but again he somehow wasn't afraid. Cicada smiled at him, then reached a hand down to touch his.

"Take my hand."  
He tried to move his hand, but couldn't no matter how much he willed it. Cicada knew and smiled as she lowered herself toward him. Buck looked on in awe as she seemingly placed her hand inside his skin! He could feel her warm fingers wrap around his, no not around… through! She grasped his hand tightly and looked down in a soft but serious tone.

"No fear," she whispered. "Trust me."

He tried to nod but couldn't. Suddenly she yanked as hard as she could! in an instant Buck felt himself flying through the air. He would have bounced off the ceiling if she hadn't still been holding his hand. He spun around, his eyes exploded open when he saw his body lying on the bed below him… right beside the beautiful mystic. He looked slowly to his right, right into the smiling face of the beautiful specter.

"Welcome to the realm of the mystics," she said with bright, clear, colorless eyes. No, she didn't say it, because her lips never moved! But he heard her… within his mind! She had spoken directly into his mind! Her smile widened only slightly. "Welcome to my world," he heard. "Trust me."

He nodded.

She took his hand and rapidly accelerated toward the ceiling of the bedroom. Buck started to protest, until he saw her completely disappear through the ceiling like a ghost… and then he did too! Within seconds they were flying through the night sky, high above the still waters of the lake, far below the sparkling, distant stars in the sky. They flew across the lake, and then over the forest until all he could see was nothing but trees in every direction. He glanced at her with a confused look on his face.

"When did it turn night?" he thought to himself.

She grinned back at him. "I told you I needed some time to prepare."  
"Whoa! You heard me?"  
"Of course."  
"So you can read my mind?"  
"No," she replied.

"Then how…?"  
"I can only hear you when you project your thoughts to me. In this form, it's just easier to project your thoughts."

"But it was only lunch time when… I just lost twelve hours?"  
"Fourteen."

"Fourteen?"

"Our days are longer than Earth's."

He paused for a long minute as they continued to fly through the night. "Did you put a spell on me?"  
She simply grinned but didn't reply. All of a sudden she stopped flying and began to descend into the forest. Once more he was about to say something, or rather think something, when a huge clearing suddenly appeared. In the middle of the clearing stood a pyramid so large it could have fit the whole plateau of Giza inside. At this point Buck was not at all surprised when they descended through the massive stone slabs of the outer wall of the pyramid and into a large, wide open room at the dead center of the pyramid. They landed on the floor right in front of a massive ten foot wide altar. Perfectly situated above the altar, floating six inches above, was a smooth spherical boulder. When they reached the floor, Cicada let go of his hand, smiled at him, then pressed both hands against the boulder.

"Spirits of the mystics, hear my beckon call," she said in a surprisingly loud, booming voice that seemed to reverberate throughout the chamber. "I have brought a visitor."  
the stone suddenly began to glow, and then pulsate a pale greenish color, illuminating the entire chamber in an eerie green haze.

"Who have you brought into this temple before us, Mystic Master Cicada Solara," sounded an old feminine voice from within the stone.

"I have brought a lost, wandering soul, a Terran from the 20th century," Cicada replied. "His name is William Anthony Rogers, also known as Buck. He seeks guidance… and relief from the souls of the dead who haunt his waking dreams."  
"Do you accept the responsibilities and the consequences of bringing a Terran here?"  
"I do."

"So be it. The Procession of Dead Souls will now begin."  
Cicada turned to Buck and put her hands into his. She looked up into his bewildered eyes and smiled, trying to reassure him. "There is nothing to fear here. The souls you are about to meet are remnants of the loved ones you have left behind. Listen to them, heed their stories, and take them into your heart. Do this and you will find relief… and so much more."

"What responsibilities and consequences are there?"

"Nothing you need to be concerned about."  
"But I don't want you to get into any kind of trouble."  
She shrugged nonchalantly. "It is nothing, trust me. You have nothing to fear here. Meet with the souls of the dead… and everything will be revealed to you. I will be back for you later."  
"What? You're leaving me here?"  
"The Procession of Dead Souls is a very personal experience. I do not wish to intrude. I will be back for you when they are done. Fear not, this dream will be over soon enough." She kissed him tenderly on both cheeks, then stepped back. "Take these souls into your heart and never forget them or what they say. You will see me again when you wake up. Sweet dreams, brave knight."

With that she disappeared into the eerie green haze.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Before Buck could even wonder if this were real or a dream, a voice sounded behind him… a voice he hadn't heard in a long time. A very long time.

"Lucky! How the hell are you?"  
Buck whirled around to face the altar and the glowing green boulder. Standing three feet in front of him was a young man, about his age, wearing the air force uniform Buck remembered oh so well. His eyes widened dangerously. He took one step forward to stare at the man.

"Toby?"

The young man smiled. "Who else would it be?"  
"Toby?" he repeated.

He shrugged. "Yeah, well, you know how it is. No one else wanted to talk to ya, after all these years gone by I think most of us forgot about you. They had to practically beg someone to come forward so I figured, what the hell, I'll do it! And here I am! Hey, I love your new digs! Very spiffy!"

Buck narrowed his eyes, took a step backwards. "How do I know it's really you and not… some… ghost or something else?"  
"Aw, come on, Buck, that's harsh! It's me!"

"Prove it. Tell me something that only Toby would know."  
"Aw come on, Buck, we were roomies for three years!"  
"Then you should have some good stories."

"Okay, Lucky, I'll play your game. You want some stories, huh? Okay, lemme think. Oh, I got one! How about the night you met ole Jennifer?! A real looker that one was! I can't believe you were gonna marry her, though. Actually I shoulda said that the other way around. I can't believe she was actually gonna marry you! Not after the way she turned you down that night! I mean really, I've never seen a guy get shot down as hard as she shot you down that night! It was brutal just watching it! Anyway, it was the Fourth of July, 1986 and-"

"No good," Buck said, shaking his head. "I've told that story to too many people."  
The man nodded, scratched his chin and turned his gaze toward the top of the pyramid. "Okay, something only I would know… hmmm." He thought for another long moment before suddenly snapping his fingers and smiling at Buck. "October, '85, you, me, weekend pass! We drove up to the casinos in Atlantic City. You're at the blackjack table, hot little redhead dealer. I'm trying my damndest just trying to get her name but her eyes were all over you. Prob'ly 'cause you were up a good twelve grand. Someone called the pit boss down, they take you to a back room to do God knows what to ya, I'm thinking, 'Oh God, I'm never gonna see you again, they're gonna kill ya!' and still this redhead won't even give me the time of day! Eventually I gave up and went to the bar.

"I'm putting the finishing moves on this lil' Asian girl, almost got her in the bag, when you finally show up half an hour later no worse for wear and say it's time to go. Being the good friend I am, I said okay and we left. Walking out the front door who do you run into? I mean literally run into? The hot redhead dealer, and she was all over you! Apologizing up and down, wanting to make it up to you! You tap me on the shoulder, smile, and say you'll see me later, then you disappear with her! I go back to the bar to find my little Asian girl, but she's gone and I got nothing!"

Buck smiled and took two steps forward to wrap both arms around the slightly taller man. "Toby!" he nearly screamed. "Man, it's good to see you again!"

The two men hugged and patted each other on the shoulder for several minutes before Toby backed up. "Hey, you never did tell me what happened the next morning, though! You came running into the hotel room and started packing, said it was time to go home!"

Buck grinned, shrugged sheepishly. "Her husband didn't like the fact she never came home that night. He was walking around the lobby looking for her."  
Toby's eyes nearly fell to the floor. "She was married?!"  
"He found us in the hotel lobby that morning, and man was he pissed! I think he was Hulk Hogan's sparring partner or something! Man was huge! I ducked out the service entrance and high-tailed it back to our room!"

Toby shook his head. "Leave it to Lucky Buck to pick up a married woman!" He tapped Buck on the shoulder and winked. "Was she worth it?"  
Buck smirked. "Every minute of it."  
Toby laughed heartily and slammed his hand into Buck's shoulder. "Man I miss you, Buck."

He returned with a weak grin and a nod. "I miss you too, Buddy. I miss all of you guys."

"But hey, you got some new friends now!"

"Yeah, but it's not quite the same."  
"Things never are." Toby nudged his shoulder into Buck. "What do you think of that Cicada chick? Not bad, huh?"  
"Eh, not my type."  
"You don't mind if I take a run at her, do ya?"  
"Knock yourself out."  
"Ahh, but you got bigger fish to fry!"

"What are you talking about?"  
"You're kidding, right? You've got the Empress of the galaxy! She's putty in your hands!"

"No, no, it's not like that."  
'Pfft, all I can say is I can just imagine what I could do to her!"

Buck sighed, backed up. "Toby… I…"

The man stuck a pointed finger into Buck's chest. "Now you listen to me, Captain William Anthony Rogers," he said with a stern voice. "Don't you get all wishy-washy, Charlie Brown on me. I ain't too dead to kick your scrawny ass."  
"You can try."  
"That's what I'm talkin' 'bout! You are a survivor, Buck! You've always been a survivor! When you and I crashed that fighter in the middle of the desert, you were the one who wouldn't give up! You damn near carried me back to civilization on your back!"

"I did carry you back."

"That's what I'm talking about! 'Cause you a survivor! You've never been one to give up, even when you should have. Remember when you and Sarge had that little altercation of yours? He was twice your size, but you didn't give up. You should have 'cause he put you in the hospital for a week."

"But this is different, Toby," Buck started slowly.

"No it ain't."  
"I killed six billion people!" Buck exploded.

Toby shook his head. "No you didn't," he replied softly. "The radiation did most of the damage."  
"Dammit Toby! I-"

Toby took one step backwards and threw his whole weight into one single right-handed cross. Buck flew backwards several feet, spun around and glared at the man through narrowed eyes as one hand rubbed his aching jaw.

"Buck shut up for a minute and lemme tell you a story."

Buck folded his arms across his chest, huffed, but didn't otherwise move or say anything.

Toby let his arms dangle at his side as he lowered his head and began to pace back and forth. "When the first missles launched," he spoke softly and slowly. "Obviously no one knew what was going on. We thought it was a computer glitch. And then the next wave launched, and then the next wave. President Reagan was in France at the time, ironically at a peace conference. Gorbachev was there too. Reagan tried to persuade Gorbachev that it was an accident, a glitch, but of course by that point it was too late. The Russians launched their counterattack and a riot broke out at the conference. Reagan was killed, and Gorbachev vowed vengeance on everything American.

"New York was the first one to go up, then DC, Chicago, LA, San Francisco, San Diego. They were the lucky ones. Within days there was a radiation cloud all over the United States. Of course, Russia had one too. Rioting in the streets, air strikes on both sides. There's not a country on Earth that wasn't involved or affected. Eventually the action died down, no ground troops ever moved because that's when all the troubles started. Radiation destroyed the waterways, food chains were broke. The ones who didn't kill themselves died of radiation… or starvation. The only ones who survived were the lucky few who made it to the bomb shelters."

"Is this supposed to be cheering me up?"  
"No, but this part might. I know about the Gaussian warship and I know about their plans for the genocide of the human race."

"How?"

"I'm dead, remember?! You learn all kinds of stuff when you're dead! Anyway, all I wanted to say was this: you and me go back a long ways, Buck. We had some good mentors and people to look up to: Glenn, Armstrong, Aldrin, Shirra, and all the guys that came into the program with our class. You take all those guys, me included, and put us in a room and tell me to pick one person out of all of us… who is the one person strong enough, courageious enough, and savvy enough to go through everything you've gone through? Nobody even comes close to you, Buck. Prob'ly only three of us would've even escaped the Gaussian warship to start with, but when it came to the dogfight afterwards? None of us could ever fly like you can. Even when you first woke up and you basically single-handedly destroyed the Draconian superfortress? We couldn't have done that as a team any better than you did solo. Draco would have walked right into New Chicago and mowed everyone down. Earth would now be either a dead husk or a Draconian colony."

"If they had, then I wouldn't have flown that experimental fighter and been sent back in time to start the original holocaust."

"Don't get me started on all that metaphysical, mumbo-jumbo time travel BS. Time travel is for the birds. Anyway… what I'm saying is, of all the people who could have saved the Earth… you are the only one who even had a chance to succeed. If it weren't for you, there wouldn't be an Earth right now. There wouldn't be a New Chicago, there wouldn't be a Wilma Deering, or a Doctor Huer. Hell there wouldn't even be a smart-ass droid named Twiki who simply idolizes the ground you walk on. You saved humanity, Buck. No one else could have. And I'm more than just a little jealous of you. In fact…" he paused, shrugged one shoulder. "I kind of always was a little jealous of you. You were the best friend I ever had… and the best friend I ever could have asked for. I am proud to call you brother." Toby stepped back, clicked his heels together and saluted. "Not many can say they're best friends with a true hero… but I am. Buck Rogers: you have been and you always will be my hero… and my best friend. I look forward to the day we can be together again, but it better not be for awhile, though! You still got a lot of kick in ya!"

Buck rubbed his jaw. "Toby… I…"

"For what it's worth, if I ever had a kid… I'd want him to be just like you. Well maybe not the lady's man like you, but you know! Buck… it's time for me to go, but don't you go nowhere. There 's someone else who wants to talk at ya." He put an arm around Buck's shoulder and pulled him into a bear hug. "Take care of yourself, you hear me? Take care of yourself first, then worry about the rest of the galaxy. And it's okay to slow down once in a while and remember all the good things we had. We'll be here… when you're done; when your journey is over we'll all be here." Toby grinned. "And don't make me come back and kick your ass again! Unless of course you want a piece of Cicada! Meow! Not bad for a chick her age!"

Buck had to smile and roll his eyes. "Thanks, Toby. You were always there when I got into trouble… but you were always there to pull me out too. I appreciate it."  
"Hey, what are best buds for? Take care, Lucky." He saluted once more. "See ya again in about fifty years."  
Toby winked, turned and floated into the massive green glowing boulder atop the altar until he disappeared for good.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Buck didn't have long to wait until the next figure began to emerge from the boulder. Actually two figures stepped forward and descended the four steps to the main floor of the chamber. In seconds the green glow around the figures disspated and they came into clear focus. Buck dropped to his knees and his heart stopped.

"Mom? Dad?" he whispered.

"Hello, son," said the elder man who looked remarkably like Buck, only older, balder, and a little bulkier.

The woman stepped up to him and reached a hand down. Buck quickly took it and allowed her to help him up. She tapped his stomach and grinned ever so slightly. "Are you eating okay? You're looking a little thin."

Buck wrapped his arms around the smaller woman and pulled her into a hug. "Mom," he breathed. "I'm… I'm doing okay."  
"So was Toby able to talk some sense into you?"

Buck turned to look at his dad and nodded once as he backed up a step. "Yeah, I'm feeling much better now." He reached out his right hand to firmly shake the elder man's. "Is this real… or just a really vivid, drug-induced dream?"  
"We're as real as you need us to be," the woman said.

Buck shook his head and smiled from ear to ear. "Man, I'd love to sit and just talk with you for about a week!"

"I know, Son, about we don't have that kind of time. Well actually we do, but I'm afraid you don't."

"What do you mean?"  
"You need to be back in Cicada's castle before the sun comes up and the spell wears off."  
"So she DID put a spell on me?!"

"Yes, and you have a time limit."

"Oh, so now I'm Cinderella?"  
The old man chuckled. "Something like that. But that's not the only constraint on your time. There's a line a mile long of people who wanna see you and thank you for everything you done."  
"What? But Toby said nobody wanted…"  
"He was just yanking yer chain, you know how Toby is."  
Buck rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I do."  
The old man rested a strong hand on Buck's shoulder. "I just came to tell you one thing, boy. When you told me you was joining the Air Force, I wondered if you had rocks in your head."

"That's a 'cause you're an ex-marine," interrupted the woman.

Buck grinned.

The old man nodded. "Damn right I'm an ex-Marine! Once a Marine, always a Marine! The Marines was good enough for me, they should've been good enough for my boy! But NO! He had to go an' wanna be an astronaut! I blame Star Trek and William Shatner! He was always galavanting across the galaxy, picking up women on every planet… even blue women! He didn't care!"

Buck tried hard to hide his laughter.

"Dear, what's your point?"

"My point is… I wasn't happy 'bout my boy joining the Air Force and then NASA." He turned toward Buck. "But I was always proud of you. Anytime someone came to the house, I always showed 'em a picture of you in your new uniform, especially every time you got promoted. You made captain pretty damn quick."

"Dad… I always thought…"  
"Bah, it's a man thing. I dunno, maybe it was a Marine thing. I never told you this… but I've never been more proud of you, of ANYONE, than I am right now. I don't remember ever saluting an Air Force man… but I will now."

He stepped to attention and saluted Buck as only a Marine could. Buck could feel a tear appear in his eye as he returned the salute. His father stiffly lowered his hand to his side.

"Now git yer ass out there 'n give all them bad guys hell!"

Buck smiled and nodded. "Yes, sir, I'll do my best."  
"I 'spect nothing less." He turned to the woman. "I said my piece, now it's time to go."  
"Do you really have to?" Buck pleaded. "There's so much I wanna tell you!"

"Write a book."  
"Don't worry, dear, we'll still be here and we're in a better place now."

"But…"  
"And there's one more person you have to talk to before you wake up," she added. "You'll see us again someday. We can talk more then. I love you, Will."

"I love you too Mom… Dad."

The elder man nodded, took the woman's arm, spun her around and moved slowly toward the stone. Buck wiped his eyes and turned away from the altar so he didn't have to watch them leave.

"This is like a bad episode of _This Is Your Life_. I wonder who's coming next. My second grade teacher Mrs. Ickes?"  
He heard someone behind him softly clear her throat. "No… it's me… Buck."

Buck suddenly lost all motor control. He couldn't see, he couldn't move, he couldn't even think. He simply froze in place until he felt a pair of hands reach around his waist. He watched them clasp together in front of him and he felt a head rest upon his shoulder. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He would recognize that scent anywhere. Blindly he moved his hand to rest atop hers and his heart jumped back to life when he felt the ring still situated on the third finger of her left hand.

"Jennifer," he barely managed to whisper.

"You haven't forgotten me," she said softly.

"Never," he replied just as softly. "You haunt my dreams… and I don't even have to be asleep. I could never forget you."  
She slid around his right side until she was standing in front of him, but she managed to maintain her clenched hands around his waist. She smiled up at him and simply melted Buck's heart once more. "I'm glad," she said with sparkling eyes.

"God I miss you, Jen."  
"I know, my love," she cooed. "And I miss you too."

"What happened… to you? Did you… suffer?"  
She released her clenched hands and moved one to rest upon his cheek. "After launch I knew you were gonna be gone for a few months so I flew back home to New York."  
"Oh, God!"

She nodded. "To answer your question, no I didn't suffer. We never knew what hit us. It hit in the middle of the night. I woke up… here. Well not here exactly, but… you know what I mean."  
He gave her a weak nod. "I'm so sorry, Jen! I tried to stop it! I really did! When I came back and realized where I was… I tried to stop it!"

She lifted her other hand to rest two fingers on his lips. "I know, my love, I know. When I woke up here, I figured out what happened. When you came to see me at the café that morning, I was confused. I knew it was the day before launch and you had a lot of things to do. I couldn't figure out why they let you go off base to come see me, but they didn't. It wasn't you… it was… YOU!" she said, tapping his chest. "You've always been the sweetest, loyal, loving, kindest man I've ever known! I was the luckiest girl in the world."  
"No, I was the lucky one."  
She shook her head. "No. I think the only reason you came after me as hard as you did is because I turned you down that night at the Fourth of July beach party. You weren't used to rejection."

Buck grinned weakly. "I just knew a good thing when I saw it."  
"So did I, Buck!"

"Then why'd you turn me down?"  
"Well first of all you already had a date with you, that skank brunette."

Buck shrugged. "She wasn't really a date…"  
Jenifer grinned. "Second of all, you know what they say about the chase, don't you? You appreciate it more when you have to fight for it! Oh, don't worry, I'd already asked around about you. If you didn't come back for seconds, I was going to hunt you down."  
"Really?"  
"Mmm-mmm!" She winked. "I'm not as aggressive as your current girlfriend, but I got the job done!"

Buck furrowed his brow. "Current girlfriend?"  
"The Empress of the Galaxy! You're really moving up in the world! Actually I should say you're moving up in the galaxy!"

"What?! No, no, no, it's not like that! Ardala's a… a… actually I don't exactly know what Ardala is," he finally admitted.

"A friend with benefits?"  
He sighed. "I don't know how I feel about Ardala. She has grown a lot and gotten better… but I don't know."

"What about Wilma?"  
"I… don't know what she is either. She's a good friend, I know that. No, she's a great friend."

"And the rest of your girlfriends? Tangy, Marla, Joella, Devyn…? Shall I go on?"  
He shook his head and looked away. "It's because… I had the right girl… but I lost her."

"No, Buck, you didn't lose me." She gently pulled on his cheek to turn his head back around to look at her. "I'm right here! You didn't lose me. I'm still here…right here... in your heart," she said, placing the palm of her hand on his chest. "Right where I've always been, and right where I'll always be. But even though I'm still there, that doesn't mean you can't let someone else in. You have the biggest heart of any man I've ever met. I know there's room in there for another girl somewhere. Now I'm not telling you what to do, but right now you have two options. One is ready to give you everything she has and more… and the other isn't. Don't look for someone to replace me because there'll never be another me. If you spend the rest of your life looking, you'll die a lonely, old, bitter man. I don't want to see that, not when you can have someone who'll take care of you and love you for the rest of your life."

"I don't know if I'm ready for that kind of life yet."  
"You were with me."  
"You were different. You… were special."

She frowned and looked away for a long, silent, pensive moment. "The only thing I regret… out of this whole situation… I was really looking forward to having a family with you, our family! It's too late for me," she said, turning back to gaze lovingly up into his warm eyes. "But it's not too late for you, Buck. Remember all those nights we talked about buying a house, having kids…?"  
"Three: one of each."

She grinned, nodded, and put her head into his chest. "Yes! I want you to have that dream again! Find your girl and start that family… for me," she whispered. "And don't worry about me. As long as you're alive… I will be too. And like Toby said, when it's all said and done and it's time for you to come home, I'll be here… we'll all be here… waiting for you… waiting for our hero to return."

Buck frowned, but nodded. "Keep a light in the window for me?"  
She looked up and gave him a weak smile. "No," she answered, shaking her head. "We've got every damn light in the house on!"

He wrapped his arms around her and held on tightly. "I love you, Jen."

"I love you too, Buck. I'll see you again… when your journey is over."

She pulled his head down and tenderly placed her lips upon his for one last, final, farewell, passionate kiss.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Wilma released a frustrated sigh and growled out loud at the readout on her console. Four analyses and the same result all four times. She punched the comm button a little harder than intended and winced as the feedback echoed inside her helmet.

"Colonel Deering to Earth Defense Directorate, Doctor Huer."  
She waited about a minute until the elder man's voice replied. "Doctor Huer; I've been anxiously waiting for your transmission, Colonel. Did you find Buck yet?"  
Wilma sighed and paused for half a moment. "No, not yet. I've encountered a problem.

"A problem you say?" Huer asked with a hint of trepidation in his voice.  
"Yes; I followed the trajectory Dr. Theopolis transmitted and I was able to pick up the residual ionized particle trail of Buck's shuttle… but…"  
"But what?"  
"It just stops in the middle of nowhere! It's almost like he turned off the engines and stopped and then disappeared, but there's nowhere he could have gone."  
"Maybe he was tractor-beamed somewhere."  
"Yes, I thought of that too, but there's nowhere a tractor beam could have originated from. I am literally in the middle of nowhere."  
"Perhaps he was picked up by a bigger ship."  
"Then I would be able to detect some kind of vapor trail of another ship, but I'm not."  
"Unless they use a drive we're not familiar with or incapable of detecting. Is there a star system nearby?"  
"Yes, there is a star here and five planets, but none of them are in the star's habitable zone. There's a huge gap between the first and second planets like there should be something between them and the computer keeps telling me there is, but nothing is showing up on any scan I've run, and I can't see anything."  
"Is that space in the star's habitable zone?"

"Yes, right in the middle."  
"Hmm, interesting."  
Wilma growled again. "Buck's missing and all you can say is interesting?" she snapped.

Huer ignored her outburst. "Have you tried to contact Dr. Theopolis?"  
"Yes, but he hasn't responded, if he's even there to hear me."  
"So you don't know if he's capable of receiving you."

"Yes."  
"I see. Well Colonel, it's your call. You can either return home and hope Buck finds his way back on his own, or you can continue scouting the area until you run low on fuel."  
"I'd like to stay here for awhile and continue my scans."  
"Of course," Huer said. "I figured you'd say that. Well inform me if anything changes."  
"I will, Doctor… what in the world?"  
Wilma's eyes widened beyond proportion at the scene that had literally just appeared right in front of her.

"Colonel Deering?"  
"Doctor Huer!" she said with excitement in her voice. "You're not going to believe this! A planet just… appeared right in front of me!"

"A planet… just appeared?"  
"Yes! One minute it wasn't there and the next minute it was! Scans show it's about the same size as Earth and populated! I swear it wasn't here twenty seconds ago! AHH! I'm caught in a tractor beam and my engines just shut off!"

"Be careful, Colonel. Any civilization that can make their planet invisible will be very formidable."

"Somehow… I get the feeling… they're friendly, though. I can't explain it."

"Well in any case, be careful."  
Wilma grinned. "You know me, Doctor Huer. I'm always careful."  
"Not when it comes to Buck, you're not."  
She shook her head but didn't say what she wanted to say. Instead she raised her hand to her helmet. "I'll let you know as soon as I find Buck. Colonel Deering out." She tapped the helmet to disconnect the transmission. 

Buck's whole body spasmed. His eyes jerked open, but the sunlight streaming through the several open windows immediately blinded him for several minutes. Eventually one eye focused and then the other to find himself lying on a huge, soft, fluffy bed in probably the biggest bedroom he'd ever seen in his life. He glanced to his right to see a beautiful woman sitting only a couple feet away in a well worn rocking chair. She had both feet curled up beside her and she appeared to be knitting something. When she saw Buck looking at her, she smiled warmly and set her supplies down on the nearby night table.

"Good morning, Buck!" she said in an airy, cheery voice. "How'd you sleep?"  
He simply stared at her for a long minute without saying a word.

"You looked like you were having some pretty intense dreams," she added.

He continued to stare at the beautiful mystic. "Who _are_ you?" he asked.

One side of her lips upturned into a half smirk. "Is that what you ask all your women when you wake up in their bed? I'm Cicada."  
His eyes closed and his head turned away. "No, that's not what I meant." He turned back to look at her again. " _What_ are you?"

"I'm just a woman who loves to entertain company." She reached to the nightstand and picked up the beginnings of a multi-colored blanket. "I'm making this for my first grandchild. Do you like it?"  
"What… what the hell happened to me? I don't remember… how'd I get here?"  
She set the blanket down and nodded. "I must apologize. You had a reaction to the fish we had for lunch. I brought you up here to sleep."  
"Sleep? We… didn't…"

She snickered and shook her head. "Oh, no, this isn't my bedroom. I'm across the hall. This was Syndria's." She stood and moved beside the bed. "What _do_ you remember?"  
His eyes widened when he saw Cicada looking down at him. "You!" he breathed. "I remember… you were floating above me! You… pulled me out of my body! I saw myself… sleeping here! Then we flew to this… temple in the woods east of the lake. You were talking to this green, glowing stone, and the voice inside said something about… a procession of dead souls. Then you kissed me on the cheek and left me. Then… I talked to… my best friend Toby… and then my mom and dad… and… Jennifer…"

"Wow, that sounds like a vivid dream! And you remember all those details?"  
"I remember… everything we talked about, everything they said… like… like it was… real."  
Cicada nodded with a straight face. "Dreams can be very powerful." She rested a hand on his chest. "How do you feel?"  
"Physically or mentally?"  
She grinned. "Yes."  
He sighed and closed his eyes, allowed his head to fall back into the soft pillow. "Physically I feel like I was up all night."  
"And mentally?" she pressed.

His eyes opened to stare up into the wide, clear, colorless eyes. "Better," he whispered. "Better than I have in months. I feel like a giant weight's been lifted from my chest." He moved a hand to rest atop hers. "Thank you."  
"Me? Why are you thanking me?"  
"For everything you've done for me. for taking me to the temple, for letting me talk to my friends, for helping me through my pain."  
She shook her head. "I didn't do anything," she argued mildly.

He narrowed his eyes. "Huh? Whatcu talkin' 'bout?"  
She pressed her hand into his chest lightly. "Whatever resolution you found with whatever your problem was, the answer was in here the whole time. Maybe you just needed to step away from your problems and the cares of the day and reflect. Sometimes that is the only way to find the answers you seek."  
"Are you telling me you had nothing to do with… this? The flying through the night? The temple? The procession of lost souls?"  
She smiled down at him. "I assure you, you can search every forest on Ornaby, but you will never find any pyramids or temples like the one you described. And you think I can pull you out of your body and fly through the air? You are very flattering if you think I have THAT much power!"

Buck let his hand fall to the bed and rubbed his eyes with the other. "Yeah, now that you put it that way, it does sound farfetched. But the dream felt… so real!" He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "You didn't drug the fish, did you? Put me into a drug induced dream state?"  
Cicada snickered again, then shook her head. "I ate the fish too, remember?"  
"Not really. What kind of fish was it?"  
"It's called nearfish."  
"Nearfish?"  
"It is native to the lake here. It's nearly invisible and quite hard to catch, so needless to say it's a rare treat when we have it. The meat only becomes visible when you subject it to heat, so you have to cook it before you can see it."  
"And it wasn't drugged?"  
"I am not in the habit of drugging my guests so I can have my way with them."

"No! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."  
She tapped his arm with her free hand. "If you're up for breakfast, I can lead you down to the kitchen. Colonel Deering should already be there by now."  
"Wilma?! Wilma's here?"  
"Hmm-mmm. She landed about an hour ago. I actually brought her up here to see you to prove you were okay and not my prisoner, but you were moaning in your sleep and she didn't want to wake you, so I took her back downstairs. My steward is entertaining her right now. And I believe Doctor Theopolis has finished in the library as well, so he is there too. And of course your charming little droid! He was quite interesting! I spent most of the night talking to him!"

"Really? So you're saying Twiki finally got the girl?"  
Cicada gave him a full-blown laugh. "Yes, he got the girl!"

Buck smirked. "Yes, Twiki is very interesting, I'll give you that." He started to sit up but suddenly stopped. "What's for breakfast? It isn't going to give me any more dreams, is it?"  
"No," she smiled. "It's just good old fashioned eggs, home fries and bacon."

"Bacon?" he asked with wide eyes. "Real bacon?"  
She winked at him. "The best kind! Hickory smoked! And crunchy!"

He sat up quickly. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Buck followed Cicada through the magnificent castle to the kitchen. As soon as he stepped into the large room, he saw Wilma sitting at the table talking to the old man who had greeted him the day before in the hangar. Wilma broke into laughter as the old man smiled and winked.

"And that was just the beginning!"

Wilma saw motion out of the corner of her eye. When she turned and saw Buck, her face brightened and she immediately stood. "BUCK!" She took one step toward him with the intentions of giving him a hug, but hesitated when she saw Cicada beside him.

Buck noticed, so he held out his arms and quickly moved toward her. she smiled and closed the distance.

"Wilma, are you a sight for sore eyes! It feels like a month since I've seen you!"  
"Oh, it hasn't even been a week," she said. "You're just saying that!"

Buck shook his head. "No, for me it's been almost a month."  
"Twenty-three days," Theo corrected.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: close enough."  
Wilma stepped back and gave Theo a confused look. "What? No, it's only been six days. I think your clock is off."

Buck tapped her on the shoulder and grinned. "I'll explain later." He glanced at Cicada. "Where's this bacon you told me about?" 

After Buck ate about two pounds of bacon and half a dozen eggs, he finally admitted that he was full. Cicada smiled at him.

"It's been a long time since I've cooked for someone who can eat that much. My Arik used to eat like that. It must be a Terran man thing."  
"What happened to him?" Wilma asked.

"Oh, he died of old age about a hundred years ago," the mystic said matter of factly.  
Wilma couldn't hold her surprise. "What?"  
"Cicada is 340 years old," Buck said with a grin.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: 344," Twiki corrected.

"I rounded."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: but still hot to trot!"

Cicada giggled. "Thank you, Twiki. I try to keep myself fit!"

"Oh I get it," Wilma said. "This planet is closer to your star so your years are much shorter."  
"Actually," Theo started before Cicada could even open her mouth. "This planet's revolutionary period is 416 days and the rotational period is 29 hours and 37 minutes, compared to Earth. If you converted 344 years to Earth time, she would be 403 years old on Earth."  
"Wow," Cicada muttered. "Way to make a girl feel old."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: now you did it, blowhard."  
"Yeah, you don't want to make her mad," Buck interrupted. "She might feed you some nearfish."

"Nearfish?" Wilma questioned while Cicada snickered behind her.

Buck shrugged one shoulder. "I'll explain later… once I've figured out what's happened here," he added almost to himself.

Wilma shook her head. "Let's get back to the age thing. How is it possible you're 400 years old?"  
"It's in our DNA," Cicada explained. "It's not unheard of to reach 450 or even 500 years old. We've just always enjoyed a longer lifespan than other planets."  
"I see."  
Cicada rested a hand on Buck's shoulder and frowned. "I'd love to have you all stick around for a few days, but I know you have places to go, people to see, and things to do, so I don't want to delay you anymore than I already have. Allow me to walk you to the landing bay."

"I can do that, milady," the old man offered.

She shook her head. "That's alright, Cain. I'll take them. It's your turn to do the dishes."  
"Of course," he replied with a smirk. "You never did like washing the dishes."  
She simply smiled as she led Buck, Wilma and Twiki toward the door. They took the elevator to the basement, then walked toward the two ships sitting dead center in the spacious hangar. Cicada took Wilma's hands and smiled up at the taller woman.

"Have a safe trip home, Colonel."  
"Thank you."  
She turned to rest a hand on Twiki's head. "Before you say anything, Doctor Theopolis, I understand your desire to open trade agreements with us, but I must decline at this time. We are not ready to join the political intrigue of the galactic empires. We had our time in the sun; we simply wish to remain in anonymity. However, you are free to visit us if you like, as long as you let us know ahead of time!" she said with a grin. "Otherwise you may not be able to find us!"

"Yeah, how do you make yourself invisible?" Wilma asked. "That's a great defense mechanism!"

"As my Arik used to say," she started with a smirk. She held both hands out in front of her. "It's magic!"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep."  
Cicada giggled. "You can say that again."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep."

She tapped him on the hand. "Save that for the young girls!" She smiled and bowed her head. "May I impose upon you to have a final word with Buck in private?"  
"Of course, Empress Solara," Theo replied. "Let's go, Twiki. I have a lot of files to process."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: process this."  
Buck chuckled as Twiki turned and headed up the ramp of the shuttle. Cicada took his hand and led him about thirty feet from the shuttle before stopping and turning into him.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked in a genuinely concerned voice.

Buck nodded and grinned. "Yeah; I haven't felt this good in a long time. Whatever you did to me, it seems to have worked."  
"What I did?"

"Don't you play innocent with me! I know you did something."  
She simply grinned and nonchalantly waved her hand. "Okay, I suppose I can allow you to think I did something! It'll add to my charm and allure!"

Buck's eyes widened. "Hey, I just realized something! I _know_ you did something to me! When I was telling you about the temple this morning, I never said it was a pyramid! You-"

She immediately tapped him on the forehead with just a finger and her eyes opened wide to stare deeply into Buck's soul. Her face grew stoic and serious while his went completely blank and expressionless.

"You will remember everything that's happened to you here, but you will remember me only as a charming host. I neither want nor desire the notoriety or the reputation of a healer, spiritual or otherwise. You will never return here and you will never see me again, although I will allow you to think of me fondly once in a while! And before you leave, I will grant you one final departing gift, because I know you won't do this otherwise." She paused for a brief sigh. "Two hundred years ago, I cried to the Cosmos for my knight to arrive... and my Arik came to me. When your _empress_ cries out for you, you will answer her call and you will go to her." She grinned ever so slightly. "There is no need to thank me!"

She tapped him once more, lowered her hands to her side, then blinked twice in rapid succession. Buck's eyes returned to life, but his head cocked to the side.

"What was I saying?"  
Cicada smiled. "You were thanking me for my hospitality. Actually I think you were just happy I had some real bacon!"

"Ahh! Yes! Thank you for everything."

"Are you sure you're okay to fly?"  
He nodded. "Yeah, I'll be okay. Actually the ship almost flies itself." He took a deep breath and held it for a ten count. "I'm never going to see you again, am I?"  
She frowned and shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I truly have enjoyed my time with you, and Twiki," she added with a smirk. "When you think of me, remember me fondly."  
"I will."

She placed her hands on either side of his head, then tip-toed so she could plant a wet kiss on both cheeks. "Fare thee well, Captain Rogers," she said so softly he questioned if he'd actually heard her with his ears or within his mind. "Allow the souls of the dead haunt you no more."  
"They won't."  
She smiled, stepped back and waved as Buck turned and headed for the shuttle. When he sat down in the pilot's seat, he took another deep breath and slowly released it.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: let's go home, Buck."  
"Yeah," he mumbled as he took one long, last, lingering look at the beautiful mystic still waving at him. "Let's go home."

THE END


End file.
